


We'll Fix the Busted Bits

by whydidIwritethis



Series: Sanders Sides Percy Jackson AU! [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Little Shit, Asian Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Black Morality | Patton Sanders, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Deceit | Janus Sanders Has Vitiligo, Gen, I'm back, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Janus uses pet names and u can rip that headcanon from my cold dead hands, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Deceit | Janus Sanders, Kid Fic, Kid Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Panic Attacks, Rated T for:, Son of Aphrodite Patton, Son of Hecate Janus, Son of Hermes Virgil, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, because I said so, because feral Virgil rights, i missed my boys, i'm gay and i'm back, please stay safe!, so is Janus in his own way, there will be future Moxiety btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28809867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whydidIwritethis/pseuds/whydidIwritethis
Summary: Virgil's mother hated him. It was only a matter of time before he was out of the house. When Virgil is taken to Camp Half-Blood and meets Patton and Janus, however, he starts to think that maybe not everyone is so bad. Maybe.(Title from Theseus by The Oh Hellos)
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Sanders Sides Percy Jackson AU! [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686265
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	We'll Fix the Busted Bits

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAAAA i'm back!!!!! am i posting this at 3 am? maybe. did i hyperfixate on writing this in three hours? you betcha. i've missed my demigod boys so much omg. pls enjoy!!

Virgil doesn’t know where he is. He _was_ in his bedroom, but Virgil had blinked and now he was standing in one of the many wheat fields of Ohio. The stalks of grain swayed against the breeze that was blowing through Virgil’s purple hair. The strangest thing was that this occurrence wasn’t out of the ordinary for Virgil. He often would be walking down the hallways at school and then suddenly he was in the middle of a crosswalk in the downtown area. Virgil didn’t know how he did it, it just happened. 

His mother, however, _hated_ it. Ahn Seo was raised by Korean parents who wanted to make a better life when they immigrated to America and had Ahn. Mr. and Mrs. Seo were very nice, they loved Ahn, and were incredible parents. However, the societal pressure on Ahn to be perfect so her parents wouldn’t be told it was a mistake to come here turned Ahn into an angry and hurting woman with unhealthy perfectionism. Then came the Snap of Junior Year. When Ahn was in college, her determination to be perfect snapped at a college party some person in the dorm was holding. She turned her attention to the nearest man and let loose the tension carried on her shoulders since 2nd grade. Virgil Seo was born only because the man had begged Ahn to keep him. Ahn never loved Virgil.

When Virgil started to randomly appear out of nowhere, have panic attacks, or get into trouble wherever he went, Ahn didn’t know how to handle it. So she began to crack down on Virgil. If Virgil accidentally teleported, she would yell and scream. If Virgil became overstimulated, she would pour cold water on his hands to “snap him out of it” (which only made everything worse, to Virgil’s horror and Ahn’s complete annoyance). If Virgil acted out of line, he would be punished harshly. That’s just how the Seo household worked, and at the ripe old age of 11, Virgil had almost had enough.

Virgil died his hair a rich shade of purple, and his mother had nearly had a stroke. He hadn’t been allowed to go outside for anything besides school for a whole month. It’s not like Virgil had any friends to hang out with, but without his escape from the house (he mostly just hid in the park for a couple of hours after school by himself), Virgil almost lost his mind.

Maybe that’s why he was in the wheat field. Virgil finally lost his sanity and now he was stranded in who knows where in Ohio. Virgil would believe it. He didn’t really have control over his teleporting abilities, but if he focused hard enough he could get back home.

Focus.

All he had to do was focus.

Virgil rarely stopped thinking. His mind was always racing from one thought to the other, most of them being anxious thoughts about any and everything. The only time Virgil achieved true peace was while he was asleep, and even that didn’t happen as often as it probably should. Virgil took a deep breath and tried his best to clear his thoughts.

_Home. I need to go home._

Virgil blinks, and he’s now standing in front of his mother in the living room. She jumps but quickly scowls at him. “Where were you?”

“I dunno, some wheat field I think,” Virgil answers. He plucks at the strings of his favorite purple and black hoodie, a nervous tick of his.

“Liar,” his mother spits. “Who willingly goes to a wheat field? Are you trying to make me angry Virgil? It’s working.”

Virgil’s heart rate begins to spike. He can feel his hands slightly shake from where they’re still pulling at the strings of his hoodie. “I told you, mother, I can’t control when it happens. It just happens.”

“If you can do it, you have control over it. Don’t talk back to me. Now tell me where you were.” Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits, mouth set in an angry scowl. Her voice sounded like venom. 

“I don’t know.” Virgil was staring very intently at the arm of the couch. He can almost feel his mother’s eyes burning a hole in his face. Then his mother screamed louder than he had ever heard her scream and punched the wall closest to her. Virgil flinched, wide eyes staring at the hole in the wall.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Since you wanna leave so badly just go.”

Virgil let out a breath, almost sounding like a chuckle. “Honestly, I’m proud of you for making it this far. 11 years is a long time to despise someone.”

His mother didn’t respond. She just stood there, eyes burning with rage and mouth set in her “I’m about to punch something so you better not be in my way” expression. Virgil had never heard his mother stay silent when he pushed back. It was more terrifying than her scream.

Virgil scrambled to pack a bag, mostly packing clothes and his stash of food he kept under his bed for when his mother got particularly angry. Then he walked back into the living room. His mother hadn’t moved, the only thing different was that her eyes were closed. Virgil didn’t stop to say goodbye.

-

Virgil was in the wheat field again, but this time, it felt a lot different. Should Virgil be happy he’s finally out of that fucking house or should he be breaking down at the thought of being on his own? He didn’t know. _Ok Virgil, you need to find shelter and some form of money. A forest would be good to find materials to protect yourself from the elements. Then you could blink into the city and pickpocket people. First priority: water. Then food, then shelter._

With his plan in order, Virgil tightened the straps of his backpack and closed his eyes. _Forest. I need the nearest forest._

Turns out, while a forest does have good shelter materials, it also has bears and other predators. Virgil felt like a caveman, sharpening a rock and tying it to the sturdiest stick he found. It would have to do.

-

The wallet slipped easily from the man’s pocket and into Virgil’s hand. Water, food, then materials.

-

The fire roared to life. It was kinda cool if Virgil was honest.

\- 

Wake up, check for danger, pickpocket, stock up, make a fire. Wash, rinse, repeat.

-

Two weeks into his new life, Virgil woke up to a rabbit looking at him.

“Hey little guy,” Virgil said, offering a spare carrot. Do rabbits actually like carrots? Virgil didn’t know. The rabbit grabbed the carrot and devoured the vegetable hungrily. “Easy little guy, you’re gonna break your stomach.”

The rabbit cocked its head to the side. Then, the rabbit stretched and grew until a full-grown man was staring at Virgil. 

“What the fuck?”

“Hello to you too Virgil.”

“What the _fuck?_ ”

“I supposed you’re allowed to be a little confused. Hello!” The man held out his hand. Virgil didn’t take it. “My name is Hermes.”

Virgil tilted his head down and raised his eyebrow. “Hermes. Like the Greek god Hermes. Yeah. Ok. This might as well happen.”

Hermes raised his eyebrows. “You just believe me?” 

“Dude. I just watched you turn from a rabbit to a man in less than 10 seconds. I don’t give a shit who you are, I’m pretty sure you aren’t a normal person.” Hermes tilted his head in acknowledgment. 

“Would you believe me if I said I was your father?” Hermes said. Virgil snorted.

“Ok, now I’m gonna need some proof.” 

Hermes narrows his eyes. Virgil snaps his mouth shut, a bolt of adrenaline shooting down his spine. Then Hermes widens his eyes and summons a photo between his index and middle finger. Handing it to Virgil, Hermes either doesn’t notice the child’s hands slightly shaking or pretended he didn’t.

The photo was his mother, glaring at the camera, with a very round belly. Hermes (at least a smaller, younger-looking Hermes) was holding the camera in a selfie position, smiling. Life was so goddamn weird. Virgil decided at that moment to stop caring.

“Yeah, ok.” Virgil hands the photo back to… Hermes? His dad? 

“I won’t scar you with why you were conceived. What you do know is that you need somewhere to be safe. You’re vulnerable to monsters out here, especially now that you know that you’re a demigod. I’m going to take you to a place you can stay. It’s called Camp Half-Blood. There you’ll be safe.” Hermes said. Virgil shrugged.

“Alright. But if you turn out to be a liar, I’m legally allowed to kick your ass,” he said. Hermes chuckled.

“You definitely inherited your personality from me, kid.”

-

Virgil has done a good chunk of weird things in his life. Riding on the shoulders of his Greek god dad while they fly at terrifying amounts of speed is not apart of that chunk.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” Virgil screams.

“Just a little bit longer kid, don’t worry.”

“I DON’T THINK THAT’S WITHIN MY ABILITIES.”

-

Hermes drops Virgil on the ground, who gasps for air and digs his fingers into the soil.

“Never do that again,” Virgil pants.

“Noted. I’ll take you to Chiron and get you settled,” Hermes said, adjusting his hair. The two walked up to the archway that said “Camp Half-Blood”. They passed the hill with a huge ass tree and a volleyball court with kids playing. Some of them notice Hermes and immediately bow to the ground. Virgil averts his eyes, staring directly at the ground. _They’re talking about you. You’re walking with a fucking god after all._

“Oh my gods! Janus! A new camper!”

“Patton, please be quiet. He’s probably anxious enough.”

“Oh! You’re right! Sorry.”

“It’s ok Pat.”

Virgil hears two kids close to him speak a little too loud. Virgil instantly respected the second voice. Virgil looks up to the source of the voices and shakily waves. He sees and hears one of them squeal, while the other rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. It makes Virgil smirk. The smaller kid beams at him. 

-

Chiron is… an experience. Yes. An experience. He turned into a fucking horse, and it wasn’t the weirdest thing Virgil had seen today. Isn’t that a crazy thought? Virgil is walking to where Chiron told him to, the Hermes cabin when he sees the two kids from earlier waiting for him. Virgil belatedly realizes that one of them is wearing a bowler hat and a yellow sweater. In June. Virgil may or may not want to strangle him. The other kid, with dark skin and round glasses, wearing overalls and an orange shirt, looks absolutely _estatic_ to see Virgil. 

“Hi!!” The kid with glasses says. Virgil shifts his eyes between his Glasses Kid’s face and the ground.

“Hi,” Virgil manages to say. Social interaction isn’t exactly his thing.

“I’m Patton, and this is Janus! He’s a Hecate kid. I assume you’re heading to the Hermes cabin?” Glasses kid, Patton says. Virgil nods.

“Cool! Me too! I’ll show you there!”

“Patton, dear, please don’t overwhelm him,” Janus says. Before Patton can say anything, Virgil blinks. Virgil blinks and suddenly he’s staring at an oncoming train. 

Fuck.

Virgil ducks down into fetal position and starts to chant “Go back!”

Virgil blinks again and he can’t hear the train anymore, just the sounds of his heavy breathing, not daring to leave fetal position.

“Oh my gods. Are you ok?” Says Patton’s voice above him. Virgil whimpers, trying to draw in breaths but failing. He hears someone sitting down.

“Can we touch you?” Janus’s voice says. Virgil thinks of his mother pulling his hair to try to snap him out of it and immediately lets out a pained whine, shaking harder. 

“Ok. Can you breathe for me?” Janus says. Virgil sucks in a large breath, chokes on it, and then stutters for a bit. After a couple of minutes of reining himself in, he uncurls and steadies himself on the ground, exhausted. Virgil dares to look up. Patton is shooing people away and Janus is sitting in front of him, holding his hand out but not looking at Virgil’s eyes.

“Sorry,” Virgil chokes out.

“No need.” Janus shakes his head. He looks at Patton and they switch positions.

“Is it ok to touch you?” Patton asks, just like Janus. Virgil shakes his head and Patton nods. 

“What happened?” Patton asks.

“Sometimes… when I blink… I open my eyes somewhere else. This time it was in front… in front of a train,” Virgil swallows. Patton nods, his expression soft, but not pitying. 

“Want us to take you to the Hermes cabin?” Virgil nods.

-

“What’s your name?” Janus asks, scratching at the lighter patches of skin on his face. The three boys are sitting in the empty Hermes cabin, Virgil wrapped in a blanket.

“Virgil.”

“Hello Virgil, I’m Janus. Never got to say that myself.” Patton grins sheepishly and shrugs.

“You don’t have to agree, but I’m a magic user, and I can help you try to control that power of yours,” Janus says as he scratches his face again. Virgil belatedly realizes there’s a line of eczema from his mouth to his ear. Virgil eagerly nods.

“How old are you?” Virgil asks.

“I’m 12,” Janus says. 

“And I’m 11!” Patton says.

Virgil nods once. “Me too Patton.”

Patton seems to like that, judging by his smile. How can one kid be so fucking happy?

-

It’s been two weeks. Virgil and Janus practice together every day, and Virgil is starting to get the hand of magic. He still sometimes blinks to Arizona, but it’s easier to get back now. Patton is… a ray of fucking sunshine. Virgil doesn’t know how he does it. Patton doesn’t even know his godly mother, even though he’s been coming to camp for 5 years, and yet he’s always so happy. Janus tells Virgil he’s just like that most of the time. Virgil slightly wishes he had that kind of positivity.

Virgil is practically attached to the boys, seeing as they’re the only kids at camp he can talk to without feeling like he’s going to vomit. They try to stick together as much as they can. Virgil learns Janus is a master at jokingly flirting, sarcasm, and hyperfixating on learning magic. Something about pleasing his mother. Virgil can understand that. Virgil learns that Patton is pretty much friends with everyone, but he and Janus have been best friends for 5 years now. Virgil learns that Patton is excellent at comforting, discerning feelings, and dad jokes. So many dad jokes. Janus groans at each one.

Virgil is happy.

-

They’re sitting by the bonfire when Patton gets claimed. One second everyone is singing songs, the next Patton is glowing. Virgil and Janus’s eyes widen as Patton stops glowing, only he’s now wearing a light blue flowy dress with a flower crown, his face adorned with makeup. Patton looks… really pretty. Especially with the glowing red of the bonfire lighting up Patton’s ebony skin. Virgil shakes his head. Patton squeals and twirls, his dress swishing.

“Patton Henderson, son of Aphrodite,” Chiron says, and everyone bows.

Patton moves into the Aphrodite cabin within the hour. Virgil stares at the empty bunk next to him, suddenly lonely.

-

“Hey guys!” Patton calls out. Janus and Virgil stop training and look over. Patton is skipping into the battle arena. He’s wearing his armor and is holding his sword in its scabbard.

“You probably shouldn’t be skipping with that dear,” Janus scolds, the ever-present sarcastic voice tainting his words. Patton’s face goes slack-jawed, and he stops skipping as if suddenly remembering he has a weapon in his hands. Virgil misses his smile.

“What’s up Pat?” Virgil calls out.

“I wanted to train with you!” Patton says, easily hopping over the barrier and into the arena. Janus adjusts his yellow gloves (really. Gloves. In August. Virgil still wanted to strangle him for that).

“Have fun with that you two, I have arts & crafts now,” Janus says, and with that, he’s walking away.

“Bye, Janus!” Patton calls after him. Janus turns and jokingly bows, a smirk on his face. Virgil smirks and gives a two-fingered salute.

“So! I wanted to train with you and talk to you about some things!” Patton says, leaning on his sword. Virgil shrugs and says “Sure.”

Within the minute, Virgil and Patton are focused on sparring. When Patton swipes his sword, Virgil parries it. When Virgil jabs, Patton sidesteps. They’ve only known each other for a month and a half, but if someone saw them, they would think the two had known each other since birth. 

Suddenly, Patton grabs Virgil’s wrist and twists it, accidentally pulling on it too. Virgil’s sword instantly falls from his hands. They’re standing a little closer than they were before, panting. Virgil feels himself blush. Then, Patton lets go, and the moment is over.

“Good job Virge!” Patton gives him a side hug and then goes to hop over the barrier. He gestures for Virgil to come to join him in sitting on the stands.

“Thanks, Pat,” Virgil mumbles.

“You don’t have to tell me more than you’re comfortable with, but do you have someone to go home to after summer is over?” Patton asks as Virgil sits down. Virgil grimaces.

“No, I don’t. My mom kicked me out.”

“Oh,” Patton breathes. Patton doesn’t say anything after that, content to provide simple company. It makes Virgil want to spill.

“She hated me. Had hated me my whole life. It showed.” Virgil ends up telling Patton everything. He doesn’t know why. Maybe he had secretly trusted him since his panic attack on the first day of camp, and his head is suddenly catching up to him. Patton just sits there with that soft expression on his face. Never pity. It was never pity.

“Do you want to come live with me?” Patton asks when they’ve been silent for a minute. Virgil looks into Patton’s eyes.

“Your dad ok with that?” Virgil asks.

“Yeah. I Iris messaged him yesterday about it and he’s happy I’ve made another such close friend,” Patton says.

“Then yeah puffball, I’d love to stay with you.”

It turns out to be the best decision Virgil’s ever made.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! you don't have to, but kudos and comments really make my day!! pls leave constructive critism!! i hope you have a lovely day!!
> 
> -Roman <3


End file.
